Three years sounds a long time, but when it’s all the time you have left with your mother, every day is precious.
Jeanette Tootell was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2021, and her family gathered. Son Brendan said his sister came from Nelson, his brother from the United Kingdom, and they spent time with Jeanette and their father John, trying to come to terms with what was coming.
“In the end, we were really fortunate. We had three years with Mum after she was diagnosed, and we were really fortunate that she was pretty good and mobile right up to about two weeks before she passed away,” Brendan said.
The family was equally fortunate to have Arohanui Hospice by their side during Jeanette's final days. Jeanette spent six days at the Hospice, surrounded by her family, and Brendan said the staff have been “just phenomenal”.
“You’re going through some pretty tough times, when somebody you love is at that stage. And the staff, the nurses, they were all really calm about it. There’s stress, but they were so nice and so helpful. They just knew, and they gave us privacy when we needed it, and when we needed them, they were right there.”
The experience left Brendan determined to help the Hospice, to give back some of the help it had given his family.
“We were given so much, so you give back.”
Brendan owns AFC Motorcycles, on the Napier Road in Palmerston North. It’s a case of motorcycles being in his blood; his grandfather was keen enthusiastic who restored Brendan’s pride and joy, a 1937 B21 BSA motorcycle. And his family would turn out to watch young Brendan compete at motocross.
“My mother was a big supporter of motocross, and her father absolutely loved it. They’d come to just about all the meetings. And yeah, Mum could ride a motorcycle. She got round on the farm bikes.”
To give back to the Hospice, Brendan and Liam from AFC Motorcycles organised an adventure motorcycle ride, from Palmerston North to Cape Palliser and back in August. Riders were on adventure bikes, on and off-road crossover bikes that can handle anything from tarseal through gravel to mud. It’s a ride that AFC will organise every year; the company has a database of keen riders, and Brendan contacted them and said they were fundraising for the Hospice.
“So we had about 50 riders. One guy came from Auckland. Another group came from Wellington. Yamaha New Zealand got on board and at the end of the day it worked out well.”
It was windy and rainy and the mud was winter deep, but Brendan said the response was terrific. All up, AFC gave the Hospice $10,000 raised through that adventure, and Brendan & Liam plan to make it an annual event.
“So, August next year… probably look at heading up the west coast.”
Something else made the ride special; Brendan’s eldest son Liam had recently turned 16, so was able to participate. “It was his first adventure ride with me.”
Brendan has also signed his company into the Hospice’s 500 Club. These are businesses that pledge $500 a month to the Hospice.
“I’m really supportive of this. Look, everyone wants to do something good. This is good, doing good, for an amazing cause that helps all of us.”
He’s encouraging like-minded businesses to join the club. “When it’s your mum, or a family member in there, you see the need. You see the value in giving to something good, to something that helps our community.”
